Problem amphetamine and methamphetamine use in Europe

Summary

Focusing on European countries where amphetamine or methamphetamine is an important part of the drug problem, this Selected issue looks at the current situation in the light of the historical development of amphetamines use since the introduction of these substances as medicines in the 1930s. The history of amphetamines use is the result of an interplay of global forces, such as the spread of recreational drug use in the 1960s and the arrival of heroin on the European drug scene in the 1970s, and local events such as the rise of small-scale pervitin (methamphetamine) production in what was then Czechoslovakia. The outcome of this is that, in the present day, problem amphetamines use across Europe is marked by strong national characteristics, possibly more so than any other of the major illicit drugs. A multilingual summary of the contents is available >>

About the EMCDDA

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) is the reference point on drugs and drug addiction information in Europe. Inaugurated in Lisbon in 1995, it is one of the EU’s decentralised agencies. Read more >>